The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-10-25
THE mAFIA.
An Imported Organization to Shelter
Criminals from Justice,
As Described by an officer of the
Secret Service.
The Image Business Among the
italians Of New York.

New YORK, Oct. 24.-The arrest of Sebas-
tian o. LAMA, an Italian counterfeiter, has
brought to light much information about the
extent of this crime among the Italian resi-
dents of the country. LAMA kept saloon,
and had surrounded himself with a colony
of purchasers for his spurious coin. Among
these were two government detectives, who
gained the confidence of the gang, and final
ly secured the necessary evidence on which
to arrest tie leader.
I'VE have been watching the LAMA dive
since July last said an official high in the
secret service, yesterday; 1--WE waited until
we thought there was nothing to be discov-
cred of which we did not have sufficient
proof. LAMA was wholesale dealer in
counterfeit coin, his specially being imita-
tions of the silver dollar. He purchased in
large quantities, had secret hiding place in
his cellar for his goods, and sold at the rate
of 40 cents ON the dollar, to a group Of Gus
toners whom he gradually and cautiously
drew around him.
sit is only within the past five or six years
that we have been infested with these Itali-
an counterfeiters. Many Of the Italians
who come here are skillful in the use of
plaster of paris, making images and the like
as anominal occupation, but more frequent
ly using their skill to make images of the
silver coin. The metal they commonly use
is an alloy of tin and antimony. Sometimes
they run in little copper. Their work is
fairly good, yet the best of it is easily enough
detected. The number of Italians who are
engaged in this image business, as they call
it, is something surprising.
There is firmly planted in this country
the society of assassination called the Malta.
1t had its origin in Sicily, whence the great
er part of our Italian population comes. 1t
IS strong here in New York, in Boston, in
Chicago, in st. Louis, in st. Paul, and in
San Francisco. Curionsly enough it has no
strength in Philadelphia. For some reason
the Italians do not take to Philadelphia. The
Malta is the old society of the Sicilian brig
ands, and it is recruited here principally
from men who belonged to it at home, and
whose fathers before them belonged to it.
1.-The object of the Malta order is simply
promiscuOus crime and mutual protection TO
its members in crime. 1t has not, so far as
know, regular meetings or meeting places,
but 1t has its captains and its lleutenants and
its collectors. 1t Is a society of assassination
and robbery. 1t superintends the murder Of
informers and others. who have incurred its
enmity, and it looks out that its agents Sc
cure immunity from punishment. The col
lectOr, when one of the assassins is caught,
goes about from station to station, demand
ing, not asking, contributions to enable the
prisoner to pay lawyers and witnesses and
secure a strong defence. 1t is not only to
the members of the order Of the Malta that
the delegates goes He goes to every Italian
who is not too high for him to approach, and
demands money for the criminals defence
They refuse ii at their peril. 1t was only a
short time ago that an Italian came to me fol
protection. He did not belong to the Malta
and he had refused to pay money to help
some villain get clear or help him out of the
country or something Of the kind. Within q
very short time an attempt was made on hi:
life, and he barely succeeded in getting away
Such things are OF common occurrence, but
are kept deep in the dark"